by L. E. Thomas
And now the world he'd dreamed about was only minutes away.
But he knew from the talk in the Academy that Atheron was not the same world he had read about as a child. With a smaller population living under massive domed cities due to the atmosphere's sulfur content, Atheron had been easily placed under Zahlian control during the initial invasion, converted into a prison and a military base while Tarrafa—now Yesro Vraun—was assimilated into the Empire. The Atheron colony had only been inhabited for two generations, so the Empire saw no need for the grand effort at erasing the culture from existence. They even allowed the world to maintain its original name.
But those were just details to Nat. Soon, he would be setting foot on a new world for the first time in his life.
"Terrier Two, this is Atheron control." The wave came to life, jolting him from his trance. "We have you on our screen now. Transmit landing codes."
"Copy." Nat did as instructed, keying the Zahlian codes to avoid being blasted out of the sky before he had a chance to see Atheron up close.
The thirty-two-hour flight to deliver the fresh water condensers and other minor supplies had been uneventful. He had left the Yesro Vraun orbit, passed by an Interceptor patrol, and settled in for the long flight to the colony. Thumux had taken a sleeping aid once they were away from the planet and slept most of the way, only waking for the final ten hours to allow Nat to catch some rest before landing.
With inertia from the initial firing of the engines carrying the cargo shuttle toward Atheron, there was little to do but babysit the controls and stare into the stars. He hated giving his mind too much time to ponder. His thoughts drifted into the past, remembering the mistakes and events in recent years. He thought of Soola as an officer on her way to see the rest of the galaxy, felt sorry for himself for remaining on his homeworld so he could drive a cargo shuttle, and quickly tried to alter his thought process.
Jet Gretson popped into his mind now, the look of disappointment seared into his memory hours before he was executed on the river bank. For the countless time, Nat wondered if he'd made a mistake betraying his father's friend. If he hadn't, though, it would have been his body next to Jet's on the riverbank.
He wished things had been different. He missed Da and Tressa. Why hadn't they joined the Empire? What else could they expect to do against such power? If he had taken a different path and resisted, he would be dead or imprisoned and was unsure which fate would have been worse. On and on his thoughts took him, second-guessing his decisions and worrying about the future.
So, when Atheron appeared on his scope, he had been thrilled to wake Thumux for the final hours of the flight.
"Terrier Two," Atheron Control cut into his thoughts, "you are clear to land on Pad Twelve in Pod Sunrise. Head directly for Sunrise's Gate. Crews are waiting to offload your cargo. Should take four hours."
"Copy," Nat said, gripping the stick and preparing to fly. "We are en route."
Thumux grumbled next to him. "Follow the guide path to the gate. It'll only take a few minutes. Then take us down to the pad so we can quit for the day."
"I know, Captain."
He shot a sideways glance in his direction. "You've never flown through a dome gate before. All your knowledge is theoretical, so forgive me if I just want to make sure you don't splatter us across an energy shield."
Nat smiled as he adjusted course and pushed a little power into the engines. "I wouldn't do that, Cap."
"And I'll make sure of it," Thumux said with a snort as he held his tablet in front of him. "We aren't scheduled to depart until tomorrow, so you're off till then. I'll transmit the details to you." He sighed. "Be nice to sleep in a bed."
"Yeah."
Thumux paused. "You never talk about dating anyone. You going to look for girls while we're here?"
He shook his head as he piloted the shuttle toward the Sunrise Gate. "Do what now?"
"We've been flying together for some time now, and I don't know anything about you."
"You never wanted to ask before," Nat said, focusing on flying.
"I thought you'd wash out like my last trainee," Thumux said, yawning. "You've done really well, Nat. I think this flying business is really for you."
Nat felt a touch of warmth on his face. He realized he had never considered other pilots who had trained under Thumux.
"Thanks, Captain. Why did the others quit?"
He paused and stared at the Atheron landscape stretching out beneath them. The ground was rocky and treacherous, but seven emerald domes dotted the horizon beaming like gorgeous beacons on a hostile world. Covered train routes crossed the landscape, connecting the domed cities to one another. As they passed over the nearest dome, both pilots stared down in unspoken respect for the architectural wonder beneath them.
The energy shield protected a 100-mile radius of agriculture in a colorful collage peppered with hanging gardens, extensive terraces, and fountains visible from this altitude.
"To be honest," Thumux said, craning his neck as the dome passed out of sight, "most of the previous pilots dropped out because of boredom or asked for a transfer. Most can't hack the hours of sitting in a cockpit, you know? You have to love it." He paused, leaning back in his seat. "But you still haven't answered my question."
He sighed. "I've never had much time to consider a relationship, sir."
"Never?"
"No."
"Not ever?"
"Well ... no."
Thumux slapped his hand to his knee. "See? What was that pause there? Well, uh, no? What was her name?"
Nat shook his head. "Doesn't matter."
"So, it was a he?"
"No," he said, shaking his head. "She left."
"Oh," Thumux said, tapping his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I had an old lady like that once. I thought things were going great until I had to leave for an extended operation—boom! She was gone when I got back, said I wasn't paying attention to her feelings or something. Then we just ..."
Nat winced as Thumux droned on, his thoughts focusing on Soola. He had wanted to correct the Captain at first, tell him it wasn't a breakup. Instead, he decided to stay quiet. Thumux didn't really care to listen to his situation and Nat didn't even know how to describe it. Even as he remembered Soola's embrace before she boarded the shuttle taking her far from him, he realized there had been no indication of anything other than platonic love for him. Of course, he hadn't expressed anything, either.
And now she was gone.
"All right," Thumux said, adjusting his restraints. "Slow up here and allow them time to drop the gate. Should be just a second."
On the dome's surface, an energy square three times the size of their shuttle wavered and dissipated. At Thumux's direction, Nat brought the shuttle through the gate and waited, allowing time for the secondary shield to open. The gate worked the same as a simple airlock, protecting the artificial atmosphere below.
There had been the talk of terraforming the entire world to open it up for more colonization, but the countries on Tarrafa could never agree on funding. When Atheron had first been settled, early treaties stipulated the planet would be open for all the people of Tarrafa. As a result, corporations and businesses ended up running most of the domed city efforts, but even they could not afford the incredible costs of researching and implementing the means to terraform an entire planet. Perhaps the Zahl could expedite those efforts, doing in a matter of cycles what would have taken the Tarrafans decades or even centuries to accomplish.
The control board pinged, signifying the gate had equalized. Nat brought his shuttle forward, pushing more power into the primary engines as the craft bounced through the atmosphere. The drag on the wings made flying sluggish after so many hours in space between the two planets.
Up ahead, slender buildings with oval landing pads at the top sprouted in the center of the dome. Rolling hills surrounded the city, dividing into orderly patches of green and blue fields with elegant homes made of crystal. Bright neon lights of purple and
blue caused the city to glow. To the right, an angular stone structure dwarfed the others as if it stood guard over the rest of the dome. Immense towers topped with dual anti-aircraft cannons stretched from the corners. Bright spotlights on the opposite side of the turrets cast beams into the structure.
"That looks like a castle," Nat said, pointing.
"Prison," Thumux said.
Nat bit his lip. A prison.
He thought of Tressa's video, her delicate face staring through the bars and pleading for him not to forget the ways of their ancestors. He winced as he stared at the building exuding the authority of the Zahl Empire, a cold shiver running up his spine at the thought of Tressa living out her days in such a place. She had fallen in with the hopeless resistance and was now paying the price. If he had known, he would have tried to talk her out of her fateful decision. Perhaps he could have—
"Here we go," Thumux said. "Take us down to the pad. I'm ready to visit the Pit."
He blinked, Thumux interrupting his thoughts. "The what?"
"The Atheron Pit," he said, his face beaming. "It's one of those dives where all the aviators go hang out with the locals who aren't imprisoned. I think it started as a joke shortly after the Empire arrived, but it's the best watering hole here, and they've got some gambling. Fun stuff."
Nat thought of the old janitor's card he'd found in the wastebasket and a sinking feeling pulled on his stomach. How had the ancient man known he would be coming here? He suddenly felt like a puppet unsure of who pulled the strings: the supposedly defeated resistance, or the Empire?
"You okay?" Thumux asked. "Thoughts of having fun petrify you or something?"
"No," he said. "I'm thinking I might join you."
"Really? That'd be—"
The control board flashed red, following by wailing sirens. Nat stared in paralyzing horror, unable to move as his eyes swept across the board. He didn't comprehend what he was seeing as the text burned onto the HUD:
MISSILE WARNING.
"What do I—"
"I got it," Thumux cut in, his voice rising over the alarms. He grabbed the stick and took control, his fingers flying over the command keys with impressive speed. Jabbing a finger at the primary display, he shouted, "There! A SAM! Coming in at point two, dash five!"
Nat gripped the side of his seat with his free hand, his heart racing. "A what?"
Thumux slammed the throttle forward and shoved the stick left. "Surface-to-air missile! Stand by with countermeasures!"
"A missile?" The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. "Why?"
"Ask me if we survive!" he yelled through his teeth, the G-forces pressing hard as he brought the shuttle around in a ninety-degree turn. "Get those flares ready! We've got a heatseeker!"
Another alarm flashed.
"Damn it!" Thumux barked.
"What?"
"Make that two."
Fighting back the fear rising in his throat, Nat relied on his training. He'd been taught how to avoid heat-seeking weapons in the simulator but had never experienced the terrible knowledge someone on the ground was actually trying to kill him. Shaking the haze from his mind, he found the commands for the countermeasures.
"Countermeasures ready on your command," he said, looking through the canopy.
"All right—stand by!"
Thumux pushed forward on the stick, bringing them into a steep dive the craft probably wasn't meant to attempt. The steel popped and creaked under strain. The engines roared. Nat watched the ground coming closer, the jagged rocks appearing like vicious teeth ready to rip them to shreds.
"Now!"
Nat obeyed, dropping the flares. At the same moment, Thumux pulled back, leveling out the shuttle. They skimmed over the terrain.
He glanced down at the sensors just as one missile zipped through the flare and collided with a peak. The sky flashed in the explosion.
But the second missile didn't lose its track on their exhaust, spinning as it continued directly for them.
"We still have incoming!"
Thumux grunted and pulled back on the stick. "I know!"
"What are you going to do? This thing handles like a pig!"
Ignoring him, Thumux brought the shuttle into a climb, pushing more power into the engines. Wind battled against the shuttle's nose, and rivets groaned, adding more noise until it sounded like they were in the middle of a tornado. Gravity pressed them into their seats, the force growing so strong that Nat felt his vision dimming.
"Come on!" Thumux cried. "Come on! Climb!"
Nat braced himself as the missile closed. He wondered if this would be the end, his life extinguished on a meaningless cargo run.
The missile pursued, driving forward without mercy.
Only seconds now.
Chapter Nineteen
The explosion thrust the ship forward. The control board faded and flickered as the shuttle moved to the side, bouncing and rocking in a violent dance. The restraints dug into Nat's shoulders.
But he was alive.
Leaning back, he looked at Thumux struggling to right their trajectory.
"What can I do?"
Thumux grimaced. "Damage report," he said, his eyes squinting so tight Nat wondered how he could see anything. "I'm having trouble ... with the controls, but we're still here."
Nat did as instructed and scanned the systems. "Engine one is sputtering. Hull scan shows the flaps and thrusters have been punctured in three places. Temperatures are spiking on One!"
"Shut her down."
"Got it." He looked at the rest. His jaw dropped. "Left stabilizer is damaged, but that's it. We're flying on one engine."
Thumux exhaled. "Thank the stars. We're close to our destination. We'll be fine." He let out a whoop. "That was close, Lieutenant! Glad the resistance can't afford a real missile!"
Nat looked at him as he gasped, wiping sweat from his face and watching Thumux bring the shuttle in a wide turn back toward the city.
"You sure that was the resistance?"
He shrugged. "Or some other wacko that thought he'd take a potshot at a Zahlian shuttle. It's happened before. Probably thought he had himself an easy target, too, but that missile barely put a dent in us. If it had been something else, they'd be scraping us as a fine paste off the ground."
"But I thought the resistance was gone?"
"Yeah, right. There has always been resistance to the Empire. Always has, always will."
As the shuttle banked toward the city, Nat tensed. "Are you sure they won't fire again?"
Thumux inhaled as if about to answer, but paused. "That's a good point. I bet whoever was stupid enough to fire those missiles is long gone." He glanced down at the instrument panel. "We don't really have a choice. We have to land."
Nat braced himself as the shuttle limped toward the landing pad. In the distance, red lights of the emergency crews gathered around the perimeter of the landing location. Despite all the excitement, he couldn't help but wonder what all this meant. Who had fired on their shuttle? Did the resistance know Tox had ordered him to help bring the rebels to Justice if he were able? Did this have something to do with his contact with the old man? Or was it just a pure coincidence?
Either way, Atheron had lost its luster with the firing of two surface-to-air missiles.
The debriefing and subsequent report took two hours. The officers had asked a number of questions, followed by investigators in plain gray suits who said they were with the military police. They asked the same questions over and over, from standard flight procedures to how precisely the missile flash had appeared from the air. Compared to the relative order of Yesro Vraun, Atheron already had a sense of paranoia and tension, so thick Nat felt like he needed to shower in a vat of antibacterial soap.
The investigators let him go, but Thumux was still in his debriefing room. Nat waited for ten minutes before finally deciding to go to the locker room and take the shower he so desperately needed. After more than thirty hours in a flight suit followed by taking on g
round fire for the first time in his life, he slid out of the slimy clothes and took the hottest shower he could handle. As the water pelted his skull, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, allowing the warmth to soak into his bones.
Between Tox's odd request and the metal card in his satchel, paranoia was starting to get to him. He felt eyes on him in the locker room, and in the corridor leading from the debriefing room—even as he had left, the shuttle and maintenance crews descended on the craft.
After he dried off and changed into his fatigues, he strolled back to the debriefing rooms to check on Thumux.
The doors were still closed.
So he wandered the halls of the base at the Sunrise Dome. The architecture was gray and bland, even more boring than the Academy. Nothing adorned the smooth walls. He passed classrooms, a lavish break room with plush chairs, and paused at the empty gym. He looked at the weights and the machinery, wondering if he would have time to work out.
"Looking for something?"
Nat turned. "Captain Thumux," he said, his heart fluttering at the sudden interruption. "Are you all right?"
He took a long breath and clasped his hands behind his back. "Looks like we're going to be here an extra day." He shook his head. "That missile took out one engine. It's irreparable. Maintenance is going to have to install a new one. Damn rebels."
Nat raised his eyebrows. "So, they're sure it was a resistance attack?"
"They're not sure of anything at this point except the fact the attack grounded our shuttle." He folded his arms over his chest. "They've ordered us to wait it out."
"Guess you could use a drink even more now." Nat nodded toward Thumux's flight suit. "You going to change out of that before we go to the Pit?"
Thumux chewed on his bottom lip and shook his head. "You go on, Lieutenant. Being shot at kind of ruined my mood. I think I'll hit the weights for a while."